Prep football: Grizzly on the loose

Barry Faulkner

Few images would be more frightening to a ball carrier than seeing

Alan Saenz waiting for them in what was supposed to be the hole. But to

make such a scenario even more spooky, picture the 6-foot-1, 275-pound

former Newport Harbor High middle linebacker charging with a head of

steam.

The South defensive coaches have created that possibility heading into

Friday’s Orange County All-Star Football Game, which kicks off at 7:30

p.m. at Orange Coast College.

“We should be blitzing a lot and just about every blitz we have

includes the middle linebacker,” said Saenz, whom South Coach Dave White

said will start in the center of the Rebels’ four-three scheme.

It’s the same alignment Saenz flourished in as a two-year starter for

the Sailors, but the philosophy differs greatly from the more

conservative Newport scheme.

“I think I blitzed once in the last two years,” said Saenz, who though

asked to be more territorial for the Tars, managed to amass tackles and

individual honors at a staggering rate.

Saenz led the Sailors in tackles each of the past two years, twice

earning All-CIF Southern Section recognition in Division VI. He was also

the Newport-Mesa District Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and

senior and shared Defensive Player of the Year laurels in the Sea View

League last season.

With Saenz manning the middle, Coach Jeff Brinkley’s Sailors won the

CIF Division VI title in 1999 and advanced to the Division VI title game

last season. The program’s combined 24-3-1 record is the best

back-to-back standard in the school’s 70-season varsity history.

In addition, the ’99 unit, which went 13-0-1, surrendered just 8.4

points per game, the fewest in Orange County.

Saenz said the increased abandon has taken some getting used to.

“At first, I wasn’t used to it,” he said. “But it’s basically pretty

simple. You just go hard and hit somebody. I enjoy it.”

Saenz is enjoying what could be his final game as a linebacker, since

the University of Montana plans to utilize him on the defensive line.

“Montana has already told me I’ll get no shot at linebacker,” said

Saenz, who has added at least 15 pounds since the fall, but says he feels

faster on the field. “I’d love to play linebacker, but Montana is a great

school, so I plan to try to learn the new position as best I can.”

That education has already begun, as Saenz has been utilized on the

line in practice as coaches search for options to bolster a lack of depth

up front.

“They put me on the line in practice and I’ve basically been getting

my butt kicked,” Saenz said. “It’s so much different than linebacker. At

linebacker, you have that second to react to the blockers, before you

take them on. But as a lineman, they’re on you right away. You have to

try to stay down low and get your hands up. I basically don’t know what

I’m doing, so I try to fall back on the one rule of football. I just try

to go hard and make a play. That’s about the extent of my D-line

knowledge.”

With surprising quickness for a player his size, Saenz consistently

made plays for the Sailors. As a senior, seven of his 79 tackles came

behind the line of scrimmage and he also made three interceptions.

“He’s so good against the run,” said White, who also plans to utilize

Saenz as a blocking fullback.

“He’ll be a busy guy,” White said. “We’re going to throw to him a

little and he’s a little scary as a blocker. Our linebackers sure don’t

want to take him on in practice. You can’t go through him and if you try

to run around him, it takes too long to get back into the play.”

Saenz, who worked out some at fullback at Harbor, said he looks

forward to his offensive opportunity.

“It should be fun,” he said. “I got a couple carries at Newport, but

they pretty much wanted to save me for defense, which was fine. I’ll be

happy to play anywhere the coaches want me Friday.”